


That which does not kill us

by monkshoodr



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: BAMF Women, F/M, Gen, Hints of Bawson, Hints of Mike Lawson/Amelia Slater, Post-Canon Fix-It, Wilderness Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-26 16:18:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17749250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monkshoodr/pseuds/monkshoodr
Summary: “If we ever make it out alive, you're getting a new physiotherapist. The man is clearly insane.”“I don't know about that, my elbow feels fine." Ginny ducks her head under Amelia's shoulder to support her weight. "I wouldn't recommend that you go to him for your ankle though. 'Cause I'm worried you'd kill him.”“If we ever make it out alive, I might.”"You've got to stop saying that."





	That which does not kill us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [outruntheavalanche](https://archiveofourown.org/users/outruntheavalanche/gifts).



> For [@outruntheavalanche](%E2%80%9Doutruntheavalanche.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D) who provided a fantastic prompt that I couldn’t resist: _“Ginny and Amelia work on repairing their friendship with a hiking trip that goes wrong. Action-adventure and survival FTW!”_ Happy Valentine's Day, and I hope this lives up to your expectations!
> 
> Note: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is a real California state park of which I have no knowledge beyond a few quick google searches. This fic should not be considered an accurate portrayal of the park or its features.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/156386176@N08/47016829952/in/dateposted-public/)

 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/156386176@N08/47016829882/in/dateposted-public/)

 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/156386176@N08/47016829922/in/dateposted-public/)

* * *

 

_One new message. To listen, press *1*_

_BEEP_

“Ginny, sure, let’s talk. I’ll be in San Diego for the next three days. I’ll come by the Omni for 11:00 tomorrow. We can do lunch.”

 

* * *

 

“ _You’ve reached Amelia Slater. For inquiries about Ginny Baker, please contact Eliot at 555-975-6342. Otherwise, leave a brief message after the beep and I’ll get back to you when I can.”_

_BEEP_

“So we’re supposed to do this on your schedule now? I sent that text over two weeks ago, Amelia. I haven’t heard from you in over a month. I’m just supposed to drop everything because you’ve decided to show up without any notice? I have plans this weekend. I’m going hiking and camping. My physiotherapist suggested it, and...um...Dr. Barton thinks it’s a good idea. For me to get away for a bit. So, no, I can’t do lunch tomorrow.”

_BEEP_

“Look, Cara was originally supposed to come with me, but something came up. I was going to go by myself, but you could come. I mean, if you want. We could talk, away from everything else. I’m leaving the Omni at 8:30 tomorrow morning, camping out in the park and coming back the day after. My physiotherapist lent me his truck and some gear, so you’d just need clothes, boots and a water bottle. So...maybe I’ll see you tomorrow? Otherwise, I don’t know, Amelia.”

* * *

 

Ginny leans back against the bumper of the truck, waiting in the traffic circle outside the Omni lobby. She drums her fingers against her half empty cup of coffee as she holds herself back from checking her phone one more time. If Amelia isn’t here in the next 5 minutes, she’s going to…

“Hi,” Ginny isn’t quite sure how Amelia manages to look her usual put together self while dressed in hiking gear, especially on only a days’ notice.

“Hi, I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” Amelia rests her bag on the ground, as she scoops her hair up to twist into a bun. “Did you want me to drive? I wasn’t sure if you could with the brace, and I know that you don’t like…”

“That would be great,” Ginny extends her hand, keys dangling from her index finger. “The brace isn’t a problem, but you’re right, I don’t like driving.”

Amelia grabs the keys and her bag and circles around to the driver’s side. “Let’s get going then.”

Ginny closes her eyes and slowly releases a breath. _‘N_ __o_ t afraid of hard work,'   _ she reminds herself. _'It_ _’s necessary.'_

 

* * *

 

Ginny watches the trees pass by the window as they leave San Diego behind. Despite the music on the radio, the silence between her and Amelia feels deafening.

“You sure this is a good idea with your arm?” Amelia gives her a side glance as she changes lanes. “I know Eliot said you didn’t have much pain, but…”

“There’s almost no pain if I’m not at physio, or just after.” Ginny fiddles with her right sleeve, tugging it to pull the fabric flat under the brace. “As long as I don’t overextend it, it’s fine, so it’s locked to keep the joint safe.” She extends her arm out over the dashboard, the brace stopping a few inches shy of straight.

“But, hiking?”

“My physiotherapist suggested it.” She shrugs. “He goes out to Anza-Borrego all the time, says the views are freeing. And I haven’t really seen any of California outside of Petco. Are you okay with this? No offence, but you don’t come across as the outdoorsy type.”

“It’s a far cry from skiing in Aspen, but I think I can rise to the challenge.” Amelia gives a tight smile. “As long as you have food and don’t expect me to kill something for dinner.”

Ginny laughs. “No, there’s enough food, even for me. Not exactly gourmet, but good enough for two days. Got to say, while Aspen makes slightly more sense, I can’t picture you skiing either.”

“My ex-husband’s family had a chalet there. We used to go every year.”

“You have a…” Ginny shakes her head. “I didn’t even know you had an ex-husband. I’ve known you for over two years and you’ve never once mentioned…”

Ginny goes back to looking out the window and neither of them speak again until after they pass through the park entrance.

* * *

“Where are we going exactly?” Amelia asks, squinting through the windscreen, trying to spot any signage up ahead. “I can’t even tell if we’re still on the road. When the park ranger said this part of the park had unpaved roads, I thought you’d at least be able to tell where the road ended and the rest of the ground began. This all looks like rocks.”

“According to the map, the trail should be less than a mile ahead.” Ginny down at the map to check. “We can park anywhere near the trail as long as we’re not blocking the road.”

“Oh yeah,” Amelia grumbles. “They’d have such a problem scooting off road around us onto the similarly flat patch of dirt.”

The truck gives a lurch, bumping over the rocks and slows to a stop.

“Why are we stopping?” Ginny leans over Amelia to check to fuel level. “We have enough gas.”

“I think we’re stuck.” Amelia tries to accelerate, but the truck stays still.

“Hold up,” Ginny hops out of the truck to take a look. “It looks like some sand has blown up so we’re on a bit of a dune. The tires are buried. Apparently, that sometimes happens up here, but it usually blows away again later.”

“And until then, what, we’re stuck here?”

Ginny shrugs. “I mean, we were going to hike out today anyway. This only adds about a quarter mile.”

“Each way.”

“Yeah,” Ginny opens the back to grab her bag. “That’s not too bad.”

“Fine,” Amelia turns off the engine and hops out. “The view better be worth it.”

* * *

“Okay, I have to admit, this is pretty spectacular.” Amelia says, pulling out her phone to snap a photo.

Ginny smiles, taking a deep breath of desert air and trying to memorize the entire skyline. “Yeah, it is.”

“Is this going to be a new thing?” Amelia asks. “You disappearing off the grid to find some amazing vista?”

“Maybe,” Ginny says. “Skip and I talked in San Francisco about finding happiness outside of baseball, because baseball careers aren’t that long, and I just…” she sighs. “My whole life, I’ve been working to be a ball player. Not “The Ginny Baker” but a ball player - a pitcher. And I’ve made that happen, but…” Ginny waves at her braced arm, “it can all end in a flash. I could be done, in a year, or five years, or ten years. But I’ll have decades of my life to go, and I have no plan for it. I think I need to find that plan.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” Amelia smiles at her, tight and unsure. “I could probably have done better at separating “The Ginny Baker” from the ballplayer.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Picture? To prove we made it out here?” Amelia moves closer at Ginny’s nod, fiddling with the settings on her phone. “I don’t think anyone I know in L.A. would believe it.”

“I dunno. You’re pretty gutsy when you need to be.”

“True.” Amelia nods. “Huh. No phone signal.”

“Coverage is limited. Apparently, you get lucky sometimes and messages get through.”

“So, we’re out in the wilderness, with no phone signal, and a car that’s stuck in sand?”

“Relax, Amelia. Enjoy the view.” Ginny waves out over the expanse. “Then we can pitch our tent. We’re here for the night, anyway.”

* * *

 

“Are you coming into the tent?” Amelia asks, blowing into her fists. “It’s freezing.”

“In a minute,” Ginny says. “Look at the stars. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“No, me neither.”

Ginny fiddles with a rock in front of her, rolling it one way and the other. “Why didn’t I know you’d been married?”

Amelia slowly lowers herself to sit at Ginny’s side. “I don’t like to talk about it. It ended before I took you on.”

“How long…”

“Were we married? Eight years.”

“And no...um…”

“No, no kids.” Amelia finds herself blinking back tears for the first time in ages. “We, uh, tried.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Amelia.”

“I’d go to war for you on that issue, Ginny,” she says, turning to grasp Ginny’s hands in a tight hold. “If you wanted to have a kid, I’d do whatever I could to make that happen. To fight the MLB to give you maternity leave, or whatever you needed. Know that, if that’s part of your future plan.”

“Thank you,” Ginny squeezes Amelia’s hands back. “It’s not part of the plan right now, but, just...thank you.”

Amelia lets go, leaning back against a rock to stare at the full expanse of sky. “Maybe your physiotherapist is onto something. This might be worth the hike.”

In the distance, a coyote howls, it’s cries echoing off the rocks below.

“Never mind.” Amelia jumps to her feet. “We need to get back to the truck.”

“Can’t now, it’s too dangerous.” Ginny stands, brushing the loose dirt off her legs. “Besides, their scared of people. They should stay away.”

Other coyotes pick up the call, howling in chorus. The sound reverberating closer.

“Oh god, into the tent.”

* * *

 

Ginny’s up and out of the tent early for the sunrise, watching the colours dance and fade over the distant rocks. She stifles a laugh as she hears Amelia complaining to herself as she gets ready for the day.

“I’m never sleeping on the ground again. Ever.” Amelia says as she exits the tent. “I am booking a massage for tonight, and enjoying all the pillows my hotel has to offer.”

“Protein bar?”

“Fine.”

Ginny takes her time packing away the tent carefully, neatly folding the fabric around the pole bag.

“So, we just do yesterday backwards, then?” Amelia asks as she stuffs items into her bag. “And hope that we can get the truck moving again?”

“Pretty much.” Ginny takes a sip of water. “I wasn’t going to do anything too strenuous with my arm.”

“Gotcha.”

* * *

 

They’ve only walked about a quarter mile when Amelia stops to pee.

“I’m just going to…” she gestures to some nearby rocks.

“Go for it.”

It’s a new experience for Amelia, spending prolonged time in nature, without the amenities provided by modern plumbing. And it’s so open and exposed, even if Ginny is the only person for miles, with no trees for cover, and just a few waist-high rocks. She walks farther than she needs to for privacy, taking off her backpack and squatting down to relieve herself.

She’s just finished and pulling her pants back up when she spots it and freezes. A snake. Winding its way toward her, it’s tail raised.

It’s tail raised and rattling.

“Holy shi…” Amelia scrambles backwards, tripping over the bag and scrambling for purchase as the ground gives way beneath her.

“GINNY!”

There’s nothing under her legs, she can feel them dangling in mid air as her torso scrapes against the rocks. Her fingers are gouging the lightly packed dirt, trying to find an immobile track for leverage to pull herself up. She can feel her shoulders slipping lower.

“AMELIA!” Ginny skids to her knees in front of her. “Grab my hand.”

“If this gives out under both of us…”

“Shut up. Just grab it.” Amelia grips Ginny’s left hand tight, while her right reaches under Amelia’s armpit to pull. She tugs backwards until Amelia’s hips are back on firm land, helping her crawl forward to safety.

“Oh my god.”

“Is that just a hole? In the ground? A hole?” Amelia is panting, half collapsed onto Ginny’s side.

“Might be a mine shaft.” Ginny gasps. “The map says this area used to be mined.”

“Of course it was.” Amelia pushes herself up to sitting. “Oh, shit, where’s the snake?”

“Snake? I didn’t see a snake.”

“Thank god.”

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” Ginny says, slowly standing on shaking legs. “There’s a first aid kit in my bag.”

“Oh no, my bag,” Amelia looks at the hole. “Tent’s gone. Water bottle's gone.”

“We won’t need it. Only about a mile and a half to go.”

Amelia moves to stand and her leg collapses beneath her. “Oh yeah?”

“C’mon,” Ginny slings Amelia’s arm over her shoulder. “Let’s go look at that ankle.”

* * *

 

By the time they make it over to the first aid kit, it’s obvious that Amelia will find it hard to make the mile and a half journey back to the truck. Her left ankle has blown up to twice the size, and faint red dots promise angry bruising to come in the next few days.

Ginny pulls a tensor bandage from her bag to wrap the ankle tight, handing Amelia some painkillers and water.

“It’s not as good as a proper splint, but better than nothing.” Ginny unpacks more of the kit. “Lift up your shirt.”

“Why, Ginny Baker, don’t get fresh with me!” Ginny rolls her eyes and tugs Amelia’s shirt up sharply to expose her scraped ribs. “Ow!”

“That’s what you get.” Ginny dabs at the scrapes with an alcohol swab. “This is gonna be pretty by tomorrow. Let’s see those hands.”

Amelia is quiet for the rest of the treatment, staring at Ginny as she works. She studies how Ginny’s brow furrows as she digs at a stubborn piece of dirt, the way she periodically looks up to check if Amelia’s in pain. She’s confident and capable, and Amelia is just as proud as she always is whenever Ginny lets this side show. It’s a side she should be allowed to show more often, if she let herself foster her talents outside of baseball.

“Almost done.” Ginny uses her teeth to tear some tape for the gauze on Amelia’s left hand.

“I’m sorry.”

“For falling? Amelia, you don’t have to be…”

“No,” Amelia shakes her head. “For the fight, for all the things I did wrong as your agent, for all of it.”

“It wasn’t just you,” Ginny admits, looking steadily at her hands as she packs away the first aid supplies. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have said some of the things that I said. You were more than just an agent. You did so much more for me, and I didn’t appreciate it the way I should have.”

“And I didn’t appreciate what I was getting into when I took you on, no matter how much I fought for it.” Amelia sighs, looking up at the cloudless blue sky. “I made a complete break from being a Hollywood agent, but didn’t realize how much of that world I took with me and applied to you. I didn’t realize how much my not knowing baseball would lead me to make bad decisions for you. And I definitely didn’t realize how much being “The Ginny Baker” meant stifling Ginny the person from making the choices you wanted to make.”

“Oscar says I should get a sports agent. I think he misses fighting with you.” Ginny smiles as Amelia rolls her eyes. “He’s right though, in some ways. I do need a sports agent who gets the nuances of the game and my trajectory as a pitcher. But I’ve realized more and more that the reality of being Ginny Baker is bigger than what I do on the field, even if that informs what I do off of it. I think I still need you as an agent to oversee that part of my life, because it’s important. It’s important to all of those little girls out there with ‘I’m next’ signs, and it’s important to me.”

“Are you saying you want me back?”

“I think I am, if that’s something you still want to do.” Ginny bites her lip. “We’ll have to work things out a bit more. Set up some boundaries about how to handle my brother, or my personal life. Figure out how to open up, or take a step back so we don’t blow up at each other again.”

“I can agree to that.” Amelia nods. “And I won’t have to do the sports side of things? You’d still want me to work out the bobbleheads, and merchandise and Nike contracts though, right?”

“Definitely, that stuff you’re great at.”

“I think we have a deal.” Amelia smiles. “Thank god, the baseball was my least favourite part, anyway.”

“I know.” Ginny leans forward to hug Amelia. “First thing when we get back you can help me look for a sports agent.”

“Okay. Ow.”

“Sorry!”

* * *

 

The next half a mile is a slow slog, Ginny keeping pace with Amelia as she limps painfully across the desert. What seemed so easy yesterday is now torturous and never ending. The sun bakes down and radiates heat off the cracked dirt below their feet.

“If we ever make it out alive, you're getting a new physiotherapist. The man is clearly insane.”

“I don't know about that, my elbow feels fine." Ginny ducks her head under Amelia's shoulder to support her weight. "I wouldn't recommend that you go to him for your ankle though. 'Cause I'm worried you'd kill him.”

“If we ever make it out alive, I might.”

"You've got to stop saying that."

“We have to stop, Ginny. I need to take a break.” Amelia pants as Ginny helps guide her to the ground. “It’s throbbing.”

“Let’s take a look,” Ginny carefully peels back the bandage, wincing at the sight of the flushed, purpling bruise. “We should stop, your ankle’s hot to the touch.”

“We can’t stop now,” she says, wincing. “I need to get out of here to a real doctor, and a real shower, and a real bed.”

“Amelia, it’s been hours and we’re not even halfway back to the car. We won’t make it back to the car before it gets dark.” Ginny looks around at the flat area and nearby rocks. “This is a good enough place to camp.”

“We don’t even have a tent, it was in my bag.”

Ginny points to a rock formation a little further along the way. “If you can make it that far we can camp under the overhang. It looks like it would give us a bit of protection.”

“With our luck, it will collapse and bury us underneath it.” Amelia lifts a hand out to Ginny. “Alright, help me up. Let’s do it.”

* * *

 

The night is cold and the stars are fiercely bright, even under the shadow of the rocky overhang. Ginny and Amelia huddle close, their bodies turned toward each other for shared heat. Neither of them have slept more than a few minutes at a time, waking up at every sound or moving figure across the desert landscape.

“Gi..” Amelia’s words are muffled as Ginny slams a hand over her mouth.

“Shh!” She hisses, her whole body tensed and still, eyes wide in terror.

A soft snuffling breath makes her look up spotting pair of glowing eyes high above their heads. Big glowing eyes, which Amelia can now tell are attached to a big head with big teeth as her sight adjusts to make out the figure in the dark.

Ginny absently wonders how long she can hold her breath, and whether the darkness encroaching on her field of vision is from the lack of oxygen, or her fear.

The pair of them stare unmoving up at the mountain lion as it examines them from its perch on high. Amelia can’t help the squeak she makes as the cat adjusts it’s stance, it’s head bowing to a crouch. It leaps forward, sailing over their cowering forms and forward to race after some unknown prey.

Neither of them sleep any more that night.

* * *

 

“Okay, that’s it, we’re stopping.” Ginny helps Amelia take a seat on a nearby rock. “You can’t go any farther right now, and we’re both dehydrated.”

“I can’t take another night like last one, Ginny,” she says, shaking her head. “I just can’t.”

“There’s a cave system over there,” Ginny points out a dark crevice between two rocks. “The map lists it as a place to explore, so it’s safe. We can spend the night in there.”

“How far to the truck?”

Ginny hesitates. “The caves mean we’ve made it three quarters of the way.”

“So we have at least another day’s worth of walking, and we’re out of food and water. And we don’t even know if we’ll be able to get the truck moving when we get back to it.” Amelia looks down at her hands, before lifting her head to stare Ginny in the eye. “You should leave me here and head back. You could be there in no time, and get help.”

“Nope,” Ginny shakes her head. “It’s not happening, Amelia. I’m not leaving you alone out here. We don’t know if I could get the truck to go when I got to it. And if I couldn’t it would be dark by the time I made it back.”

“It’s no use having us both die out here.”

“Nobody is dying.” Ginny insists. “I told a couple people my plans and the schedule. They know I should have been back yesterday. Someone will come looking, we just have to be patient. Now, c’mon, let’s get you to the cave.”

* * *

 It's pitch black in the cave, and eerily silent when Ginny's phone beeps, waking them from their uneasy sleep. She scrambles to unlock the screen, fingers flying to type a message in reply before the signal drops.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/156386176@N08/47016829852/in/dateposted-public/)

“Did it send?” Amelia’s face looks weary in the blue glow from the screen.

“I’m not sure. Signal’s gone.” Ginny gives a weak smile before putting the screen to sleep, plunging them back into darkness. “And the battery’s almost dead.”

“So who’s the cavalry, if the message makes it through?”

“Lawson.”

“Lawson, right.” Amelia sighs. “I shouldn’t have slept with him.”

“Amelia, I don’t want to know anything about…”

“There’s nothing to know, really,” she says. “I shouldn’t have done it though. I didn’t realize how hard it would make it for the two of you as teammates. And I didn’t realize how hard it would be for you personally.”

“Nothing to be sorry for, I’m not in charge of who either of you date.”

“I thought we were trying to communicate better.” Amelia says. “Just take the apology.”

“Accepted.”

“You can’t date him,” Amelia says softly.

“I don’t date teammates.” Ginny curls away from Amelia, hoping she’ll take the hint to end the conversation.

“It used to be that you didn’t date ball players. You’re getting more specific.” Amelia pauses. “You couldn’t have dated him if he’d gone to Chicago. He’s not ready - he needs time to get his head on straight. And you need time to become a player in your own right.”

Amelia rolls toward Ginny’s curved back, whispering toward her spine. “But I could make it work, if it doesn’t happen right away. If I had time, I could come up with a strategy and it would be fine. If that’s ever something you decide you want, you just let me know, and I can make it work.”

* * *

 

"Hello? This is the Park Ranger, is there anyone in there?" 

"Yes! We're in here!"

* * *

 

“We’ll have triple A come up and tow the truck back to San Diego,” the Park Ranger says, as he guides the ATV along side the hiking path. “It looked like the tires were still buried, and I don’t have the equipment to pull it out.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be happy to pay to have that happen.” Ginny smiles at him. “It’s probably a good idea that we get Amelia out of here soon, rather than waiting for a tow.”

“If I’m not relaxing in a bath in the next 3 hours, someone is going to pay.”

“Forgive her, she’s had a long few days. How long does it usually take to get a taxi out here?”

“Oh, you’ve got a ride waiting.” He gestures toward the dark vehicle up ahead, as they pull up to the access road.

“Anyone call for an Uber?” Mike Lawson asks.

“Don’t even think about hugging me,” Amelia says smiling despite her words and accepting Mike’s hand up into the back seat of the car.

“You guys okay?” He asks Ginny, running a hand quickly down her injured arm and hooking a finger through the metal of the brace.

“I think we will be. Thanks for coming.” She flashes her dimples at him, and climbs in the back seat to sit beside Amelia.


End file.
